Miss Sophia's Spirited Spinster's Society
Page 22
William, who’d kept quiet until that moment, groaned, his green eyes narrowing. “Calvin, no one in this carriage cares what the women are thinking. We’re bachelors.” He pointed at himself, Aaron, and Rollo, before glaring at Calvin. “And I, for one, plan to stay that way.”
Calvin, like Morris, was engaged, as were two other members of the brotherhood, Francis and Emmett, who were riding in the carriage behind theirs. In the third carriage were the five women who’d driven them all crazy.
They called themselves the Spinster Sisters, but there was nothing spinsterish about them. Not only were they all beyond beautiful, but four of the five were engaged, and each to a member of the brotherhood.
Aaron spoke as though he knew exactly what Rollo had been thinking. “It seems the best way to remain single is to stop the Spinsters from getting any larger.”
“But how will you ever arrange such a thing?” Calvin asked. “You know how Lorena loves people. Except for Emmett’s mother, I’m sure she’d only have good things to say about the rest of the world.”
That was probably true. Lorena Cullip had started the Spinsters’ Society, only to become engaged less than a month later to Emmett, the Earl of Ashwick. No one quite cared for Emmett’s mother, since she had never cared about Emmett, but everyone loved Lorena.
It was hard not to. She was a ray of sunshine who kept everyone together.
Rollo had fallen under her spell seconds after they met nearly two decades ago as children. Her easy smile, kindness, and friendship had given Rollo what he’d needed. Like the others, he’d declared himself her brother, protecting her no matter what scheme she dragged them all into.
Since Lorena had joined the Society, all the men had encountered near death. Her kindness made her a pretty target.
Rollo had no desire to fall in love. He’d been blessed without measure with the friendships he held and didn’t see the point in adding another connection into his life and definitely not one as fragile as the love between a man and a woman. Women were strictly for entertainment and nothing more.
And it had been awhile since he’d been thoroughly entertained, months even. He hadn’t touched a woman since the end of the Season, four and a half months ago. Since then, the men had gone to Morris’ family property, Kidd Castle. William, who’d been a major general in the army, had trained them in close-encounter fighting while Morris, who’d been shooting since before he could walk, instructed them with handguns, which Rollo had learned were much different than handling a rifle. This was all done because of the Spinsters. If the men were going to live with them, they had to know how to protect them.
The idea would seem strange to one who didn’t know the brothers well. On the outside, they were simply a group of dashing gentlemen from wealthy or titled families, but since the days of Eton, their friendship had been tested and tried. Their childhood enemies had become adults, and their antics turned to things as wicked as blackmail, murder, and deception. With every new challenge, the Men of Nashwood had been forced to create new rules for themselves, and Rollo knew that it was only those rules and the oaths they’d sworn that kept them together. Friendships like theirs didn’t come around often, yet they’d survived.
After Helsby’s attack, the men had gone after the woman Morris loved because they were sworn to do so. He was their brother, but since that day, things had grown quiet and Rollo could now focus his time on something else, or rather someone else. A woman. He just needed to find one.
“Face it,” Calvin declared. “Each of you better prepare to fall in love.” He smiled as his hazel eyes took on a far-off look. He was obviously thinking about Alice, his fiancée, who rode with the women.
“Calvin is right,” Aaron said. “The women are most likely plotting something in that carriage. We shouldn’t have let them ride together.”
“You’re probably next if fate has her way,” Calvin said to Aaron. “Your daughters will need a mother.”
“They’re my wards,” Aaron reminded him. “And I’m not afraid of women. It’s not like any of yours have actually made honest husbands out of any of you.” He smiled at that.
Rollo immediately howled, stomach pain brought on by humor.
William fought to clear his throat, but his own laughter poured out.
Calvin glared. “Alice will be my wife by the end of the week.”
Rollo wondered how many times he’d heard a line similar to that from the other men, but for some reason or another, each engaged couple had yet to marry. It had been decided in secret between the men two weeks ago that no one would leave Gretna Green until the couples were married. Morris, Emmett, Francis, and Calvin had all planned to woo their women down the aisle, using every weapon they had. Yet so far, the women had held out.
Yet for the last two weeks, Rollo and the others had been informed that the women were withholding their bodies, which had set the others off into laughter. It was as if the women knew what the men were plotting, and Rollo anxiously waited for the outcome.
William smiled at Rollo. “Flip a coin for me. Let’s see if I’m next.”
Everyone looked at Rollo.
Calvin wiggled his brows. “Oh, Mighty Rollo, what do the coins have in store for William?”
He grinned and dug into his pocket. “I’m not a fortune teller.”
“Closest thing we’ve got to it, King Kerry,” Aaron said with a smile.
King Kerry. The sobriquet had been inherited from his father, who’d been a rich merchant who married an heiress. Then Rollo’s father had struck oil on the land, making their family wealthier. Over the years, people had begun to think Rollo would inherit his father’s luck, and so far, they’d been right. He’d never lost a hand of cards or bet on the wrong horse at a race and every now and again, his friends depended on him for tricks like this.
The flip of a coin was an ancient practice. The Romans called the two sides ships and heads, but the English called it something else.
“Cross or Pile?” Rollo held up an ancient bronze coin, one of the last gifts he’d received from his father, like the gold ring he wore on his first finger.
“Cross,” William declared.
Rollo flipped the coin and caught it. Everyone leaned forward to see which side would win.
The carriage stopped.
Rollo opened his hand.
Cross.
William grinned. “Now, let’s see if Calvin will ever marry.”
Rollo and Aaron chuckled.
“I’ll be married by week’s end,” Calvin declared as he stepped out of the carriage. “Mark my words.”
Rollo rolled his eyes and placed a heavy boot on the frozen ground before looking up at the house. It was bigger up close, though he was sure there weren’t enough rooms for everyone to sleep alone. “Looks like we’ll have to share chambers,” Rollo said aloud.
Aaron stood beside him, but in a way that an owner would, since it was now one of his many properties. “Perhaps the women can all share one.”
“No!” Calvin stomped and stood in front of them. “Alice will be sleeping with me.”
“I most certainly will not,” Alice called from a few feet away. She looked around and grabbed Sophia’s hand just as she climbed from the carriage and then Genie’s, who was on her other side. Lorena emerged from the carriage and smiled. “The women have decided to share a single room.”
Calvin looked as though the wind had been knocked out of him, which with Calvin usually took effort. Everyone, or at least the unattached men, broke into laughter. Emmett and Francis looked ready to break someone. Morris’ expression remained unreadable, but Rollo knew the wheels of frustration were turning in his head.
It was as if the women knew what the men had planned, that no one would leave Gretna Green until there was a collective wedding, and if so, Rollo prepared himself to miss the Season.
Missing the Season meant missing the matchmaking mothers and not having to dance…
Perhaps he was lucky after all.
> Testing his theory, he lifted his coin and flung it in the air.
Cross. There be a woman in this house for me.
The coin twirled in the air before landing in Rollo’s palm. He glanced down and grinned.
Cross.
* * *
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ALSO BY CHARLOTTE STONE
The Spinster’s Society
Book 1 : Lady Lorena’s Spinster’s Society
LINK: Book 1 - Lady Lorena’s Spinster’s Society
^ Story of : Ashwick . Lady Lorena
Book 2 : Alice’s Shameless Spinster’s Society
LINK: Book 2 - Alice’s Shameless Spinster’s Society
^ Story of : Calvin . Alice
Book 3 : Genie’s Scandalous Spinster’s Society
LINK: Book 3 - Genie’s Scandalous Spinster’s Society
^ Story of : Francis . Genie
Book 4 : Sophia’s Spirited Spinster’s Society
LINK: Book 4 - Sophia’s Spirited Spinster’s Society
^ Story of : Morris . Sophia
Book 5 : Florence’s Stupendous Spinster’s Society
LINK: Book 5 - Florence’s Stupendous Spinster’s Society
^ Story of : Rollo . Florence
Fire and Smoke
LINK: Book 1 - The Earl’s Unforgettable Flame
LINK: Book 2 - The Duke’s Ever Burning Passion
LINK: Book 3 - The Viscount's Blazing Love
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This book is copyright © 2017
by Charlotte Stone
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or deceased, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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